These Quiet Moments
by AnAverageGirl15
Summary: After a failed mission and a new threat, Oliver doesn't know what he's going to do. Felicity is there to help him see. Established relationship. Set in the future. AU


**Summary: **After a failed mission and a new threat, Oliver doesn't know what he's going to do. Felicity is there to help him see. Established relationship. Set in the future. AU

**A/N:** It's finally here. Everyone should thank my insomnia for kicking in tonight. I was able to finish and type this bad boy in only a few hours. I want to give a big thanks to all you who have supported me and given me words of encouragement to keep on writing. You guys are the best. I hope everyone likes this. It went a completely different way than I thought it would. But there is a sequel in the process. That one might take a little over a month to be posted. But it will be posted. I promise! I hope no one is OOC. I tried to capture them as best as I could but also taking into account that this is set in the future, which always means growth in said characters. So this is obviously an Olicity ship leaving the dock. So if you don't like it, walk thy plank! I kid, but please only love and construct criticism.

* * *

Felicity watched Oliver as he put his bow and quiver away slowly, his muscles still tense from his encounter. She her lip as she saw his stilted movements. Not for the first time that night, she wondered what had happened between Oliver and Malcolm. However, by the way he was brooding about something, she could only assume it didn't end the way they had all wanted it to. She wanted to know what had happened – she really did hate mysteries – because somehow Oliver's earpiece had been disabled when he came face to face with Malcolm. She had freaked out, going into panic mode, trying to find something to make sure Oliver was okay. That's how Diggle had found her as he came down into the Foundry after receiving her text.

Felicity had explained hurriedly how Oliver and she had found something that was linked to Malcolm and how Oliver, being Oliver, didn't want to wait for Dig – not wanting to risk missing the chance to finally bring Malcolm down. She had obviously protested but he only had to say, "For Tommy", for her to cave – damn his expressive blue eyes. She put together his route, handed him his earpiece, all the while telling him to keep it on at all times or she was going to call Diggle. Oliver quieted her with a searing kiss (which Felicity left out of her story for Diggle's sake) before she whispered to him as they parted to be safe.

Felicity hadn't even waited thirty seconds after Oliver left to text Diggle to get to the Foundry as fast as he could. It took longer than she would have liked (but he was with Carly on their date night, so she couldn't hold it against him), especially since not even fifteen minutes after he had left, Oliver's earpiece had gone static. It took another ten for Diggle to arrive and that brought Felicity full circle as she had finished explaining everything to Diggle. He had then placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, even if he too was worried, before he started to grab his gear. As he had done that, Felicity went back to looking for any cameras she could hack into. Just as Diggle was about to leave (fifteen minutes since Felicity lost contact with Oliver), Oliver's tracking device started to move. She caught the first glimpse of him on a street camera, taking in a full breath for the first time in almost an hour, as she watched him speed down the street on his motorcycle.

Which brought her to this moment here, watching as Oliver's taut muscles closed his chest housing his bow. So Felicity knew something had happened besides Malcolm getting away. But she also knew it was going to be easier pulling teeth from a crocodile than getting that information from Oliver. She looked at Diggle, who was looking at Oliver worriedly. If Dig was worried, she knew that she wasn't imagining things or over reacting (as Oliver put it sometimes, which got him a slap a few times before he learned better).

With new determination, Felicity set her jaw as she stood up from her computers. She was going to find out what had happened between Oliver and Malcolm. She was also going to show Oliver that everything was going to be fine in the end.

Felicity started to shutdown all her computers before turning around and faced Oliver, who was now just standing in front of his chest. Felicity cleared her throat before saying, "I'm going home."

That got at least some type of response from him, even if it wasn't the one she would have liked. Because that meant whatever had happened was a lot worse than she first thought. Oliver's shoulders tensed as he looked over one at her, his eyes darkening and his jaw clenching. He took in a deep breath through his nose before clipping out, "I'll see you there. I have to do a few things here..."

Felicity shook her head and cut him off, "And you're coming home with me." Oliver turned around to argue, his eyes darkening even more in anger, but Felicity's own eyes flashed with emotion as she started to walk toward him and changed on, "No. We are leaving. Now."

They stood like that, a few feet separating them in tense silence, the only sound coming from the night club over their heads. Oliver tried to stare Felicity down, but she was just as stubborn as he was at times when the cause was this important to her. Diggle shifted from one foot to the other, watching this standoff, silently hoping Oliver lost this one time.

Finally, Oliver looked away and clenched his jaw again before letting out a slow breath. "I'll be ready in five." With that he left to change into his suit. When he was finally out of sight behind a closed door, Felicity let out a breath she didn't even realize she had been holding as she slumped against a table near her. She looked at Diggle before finally asking, "What the hell could have happened out there?"

Diggle shook his head as he said, "I have no clue, but whatever it was really got to Oliver. I've never seen him this closed off before. At least not since..." Realization dawned on him just as Oliver walked out, causing Felicity to be left unaware of the cause.

Felicity pushed herself off the table and started to walk toward Oliver, who still had a few buttons left open as he tossed his jacket and hood on the table, before starting to button up his shirt again. Felicity stepped forward and gently pushed his hands out of the way, finishing the last few for him.

When she looked up, he was looking right at her with an odd expression on his face that she couldn't quite place. Something between anguish, love, and fear. She smoothed the invisible wrinkles on his shirt, feeling his muscles tense a little underneath her fingertips. She licked her lips before saying, "We should go. Oliver Queen has to make at least one appearance at his club tonight."

Oliver smiled softly, before taking her hand. "Okay." He led her up the stairs and they slipped through the secret door, with Dig close behind them. Felicity still couldn't understand how even after being together as a couple for over two years, they still received some double-takes (or in her case, some pointed looks of jealousy). No one knew that the two were actually married now – only close friends and family knew (which amounted to about eight people).

So as they made their way through the crowd, with Felicity in front of Oliver with his hands on her hips, a few women suggestively said hello to him – thinking he was still the playboy of old, before the island. Oliver only nodded to them, being a good club owner, but his hands tightened around Felicity's waist, bringing her close to him as they continued to the bar so he could check to make sure everything was in stock.

The bartender, Roy Harper, smiled at the two of them – knowing their secret marriage and other secret life. Oliver was still training him (after some serious persuading on Felicity's part) to be part of the team, but Felicity knew Roy was going to be a great addition, even if she hated telling Thea even more lies. As Roy brought Oliver up to speed on the night, Felicity started to look around the club, letting her eyes dance over the crowd. She never was much of a club goer. Not that she didn't like to dance. There were just too many bodies everywhere and you never knew what type of slime could be out there.

A smile grew on her face as she spotted Thea with a group of her friends dancing near their designated table (both Oliver and Roy's idea, which she had no opinion on when asked by Thea – although if you really wanted to know, she kind of liked the idea of keeping her safe and always in someone's eyesight). She and Thea were supposed to have a lunch date earlier that day, but Felicity had had to cancel when some higher up needed her IT expertise. She now waved at her from across the dance floor, watching as an even bigger smile spread across Thea's face. Felicity motioned that she was going to come say hi before leaning up to shout over the music at Oliver (who still had a firm hold on one of her hips), "Ollie, I'm going to go say hi to Thea really fast before we leave. Just come and get me when you're done with Roy."

Oliver looked down at her before he looked at the crowd, spotting Thea right away. He started to nod his head in acknowledgement, while Felicity tried to move away, but his hand on her hip stopped any further movement. She looked up at him confused, when he leaned down and said seriously, "Be careful."

Felicity nodded before saying while she smiled at him, "We're in _your_ night club, not much can happen. Don't worry, I'll be fine. Love you."

With a quick kiss to his lips, Felicity started to walk away, ganging close to the wall, knowing that she should listen to Oliver even if she thought it was ridiculous. She was just about to come to Thea's group, who was now sitting down waiting for her with a glass of wine, when Felicity felt a hand wrap around her upper arm. Like she said, _slime_. Felicity turned around, looking down at the hand wrapped around her arm before following it up the owner's arm to look at his face. The guy was smiling down at her with what he must have thought was his charming smile. Felicity physically had to stop herself from scoffing at him and rolling her eyes.

She knew that if it came down to it, she could physically remove the man's hand. Diggle had trained her well, and after the few threats on her life while in the field, Oliver continued to train her (which had its perks and usually ended up with both of them missing various pieces of clothing and one very awkward encounter with Roy). So she wasn't worried about being able to defend herself. She just hoped it didn't have to come down to that.

The man, Felicity was going to call him Mr. Grabby McHands, spoke smoothly, "Hey beautiful, how about a dance?"

Felicity nearly rolled her eyes at that line. Mr. Grabby McHands needed to work on his pick up lines, badly. Instead, she settled for saying, "No thanks. I don't dance much."

She tried to tug her arm free but he held on and said, "Then what about a drink?"

Felicity shook her head, "I'm actually meeting my friend, who already has my drink, so no again. Now if you could let go of my arm, I'd like to get to her."

Mr. Grabby McHands tightened his grip as she tugged her arm again, trying to free herself. Felicity was just about to snap at him, when she looked into his eyes and finally saw how angry he was. Fear clenched her hear t for a second as he leaned forward, tugging her toward him as he whispered, "You're coming with me tonight, so you better accept my offer. Or I'll just show you how appreciative you should have been when I was being nice."

Felicity's instincts kicked into overdrive as she yanked her arm even harder. "Let go of my arm."

She was just about to twist his arm behind him, when he threw her off balance by tugging her toward him even more and he said hotly, "Okay, now you've made me angry. Out of all the girls tonight, I picked you. But you don't seem to get how lucky you are, so I'm going to show you."

He started to drag her with him toward one of the private rooms, as she said again, ready to break this guys arm now, "I said, let go!"

Once again she was about to put to use what Oliver and Diggle taught her, when she heard a familiar voice behind her say angrily, "She said, let go of her."

Felicity knew she could hold her own now, but even still, hearing his voice brought a calm to her she didn't know she needed. She never got used to the idea of her having to use such violence against someone even if it meant protecting herself. Now she knew everything was going to be alright though. However, Mr. Grabby McHands didn't seem to know that because he only tightened his hold on her and turned to look at Oliver. "This doesn't involve you." He tightened his hand even more around her – she just knew it was going to leave a bruise – causing a wince of pain to form on her face.

Oliver's eyes darted down to where Mr. Grabby McHands was squeezing her and then back up to Felicity's face to see her wince. His nostrils flared, his fists clenched, and she could tell he was trying hard to not let the Hood out in public. Oliver spoke dangerously close to his Arrow's gravelly voice through clenched teeth, "I'm telling you. Let. Her. Go. Now!"

Mr. Grabby McHands turned around to face Oliver fully and said, "And if I don't what are you going to do about it?"

Felicity could tell that the situation was going to escalate out of hand extremely fast if she didn't try to diffuse it soon. She didn't know how much of Oliver's pent up anger for not catching Malcolm would come out if this led to a fight and by the looks of it, Mr. Grabby McHands wanted to fight. So she started to talk to Oliver, to try to calm him down, "Oliver, it's o…" But she never got the rest of the sentence out, as Mr. Grabby McHands backhanded her in the face, catching her off guard and causing her to fall to the ground, with a yelp of pain.

Mr. Grabby McHands started to shout, "Shut your mouth bit…" Then his sentence was cut off.

Oliver only saw red when the man hit Felicity and he just reacted without thinking. He punched the guy squarely in the face, grabbing him before he fell to the ground to knee him in the stomach. He then tossed him into the wall, ready to continue his beating, when someone grabbed at his arm. Oliver was just about to take out the intruder when Diggle's voice reached his ears over the rush of blood. "Oliver! Stop."

Oliver shot Dig a sidelong look before turning the full extent of his glare onto Felicity's assaulter. He shoved him into the wall one last time before letting him go. Oliver started to walk toward Felicity, where Roy and Thea had brought her after helping her up. The man shouted out though, "Where the hell do you think you're going? I'm pressing charges." He turned to Diggle and told him, "Call the police. I want this man arrested for assault."

Diggle felt his own anger spike, but said through clenched teeth (instead of punching the lights out of the dick), "Sir, I think it's best if you just leave."

The man just wouldn't let it go though. "No. Call the cops." He then said under his breath, "And all for a stupid, nerdy bitch. So much for an easy lay."

Oliver stopped mid-step (just a few feet away from Felicity) and turned around. His eyes turned a deep cobalt color as his anger flared. He stalked back to the man and whispered in a dangerous tone, "If you ever try to force a woman, especially my _wife_, like that again, I will find you and I'll make sure you'll never be able to do anything like this again." Oliver then turned to Diggle and said, "Get this man out of my club." Diggle gladly grabbed the man none-too-gently by his arm and forced him out of the club.

Oliver finally found his way to Felicity's side, pushing Roy out of his way. He cupped her face and gently turned it so he could look at the side she was hit on, as he asked her, "Are you okay?"

Felicity wrapped her hand around the wrist of his hand that was cupping her face and whispered, "I'm fine Oliver. I'm fine."

He searched the rest of her body for any other injuries, noticing the finger like bruises forming on her arm already. He looked her in the eyes again as he asked, "Are you sure?"

Felicity could tell that this altercation had rattled Oliver more than she thought it could have. She nodded her head as she reassured him, "Yes, I'm positive. I'm fine." Before she even knew what was happening, Oliver's lips were on hers and kissing her desperately. She reacted almost immediately, giving him the assurance that she really was okay. And then it was over. He pulled away and rested his forehead against hers before saying, "Let's go home."

Felicity nodded her head mutely, welcoming the warmth of Oliver's hand as he held onto hers. Thea started to say she was coming too, but Roy stopped her and Felicity shook her head, mouthing that she would call her later.

Oliver pushed his way through the crowd that had gathered, keeping Felicity close to him. They were both happy to feel the cool night air hit their skin as Oliver handed Felicity her helmet, before slipping his own on. She slid on behind him, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso. She felt the engine rev to life beneath her, feeling that small thrill she got every time she rode with Oliver. He sped off, zipping passed cars, trying to get home as fast as possible.

Once they arrived at their condo, Oliver didn't even give Felicity much of a chance to put her jacket away before his fingers were buried in her hair (loosening the tie) and his lips were on hers again, kissing her hungrily. Felicity pushed his jacket off as she pulled his shirt from his pants, savoring the feel of his warm skin against her fingertips. As they broke apart for air, felicity finally realized Oliver had led her to their bedroom and they were both completely naked.

As Oliver gently laid her on the bed, Felicity could see his inner turmoil. She reached out and softly traced his brow. "Oliver?"

He shook his head, not wanting to answer her unasked questioned. He buried his face in her shoulder as he began to kiss her neck as he whispered, "No. Just…don't leave me. Please."

Felicity heard it in his voice that he was talking about so much more than what had happened at the club. She hugged her arms around him, bringing him closer, letting her fingers weave through his short hair, as she wrapped her legs around his waist, her feet hooking between his legs. Just as he slid home, she whispered, "Never. I'll never leave you. You'll always have me." She sealed that promise with a kiss. A kiss that said everything both of them dared not speak. Of how much they needed each other. Of how much it would hurt to never be with the other again. Of things they feared the most. They made love slowly that night, holding onto each moment like it could be their last together.

* * *

Felicity gently traced one of the many scars on Oliver's back. She had only been able to sleep for a few hours after they made love. Now, she couldn't shut her brain off – even if it was only three in the morning. She sighed softly as she let her finger gently move to outline his dragon tattoo.

She wasn't startled at all when Oliver's deep voice asked, "Why are you awake? I thought I was the one who didn't sleep."

Felicity smiled softly as Oliver turned his head to look at her. She hummed quietly in the back of her throat as she moved closer to him, feeling his warmth surround and protect her. She gently brought her fingers up to trace his browline (something she had started to do when they first started dating, when she noticed he was thinking too hard, but now she did it just to relax him). She realized then that she never did talk to him about what had happened with Malcolm. She softly kissed his shoulder before asking, "What happened today?" Felicity watched as Oliver began to close himself off from her. She brought her hand to his arm and tightened her hold, "Hey, don't do that. Not to me. I'm here for you."

Oliver closed his eyes as he blew out a breath. "When did you get so good at reading me?"

Felicity laughed a little as she said, "Somewhere between you yelling at me for changing the security code, the first time, and me mentioning to you how I got to play doctor on you."

Oliver smiled at her a little before he rolled over onto his side to face her. He began to trace an imaginary line up her arm to her shoulder before twirling one of her locks of hair between his fingers. Felicity laid there on her own side, quietly facing him, knowing that he would tell her eventually. It took a few more moments of silence before he spoke again. "I'll never let anything happen to you."

Felicity didn't understand where this was going, but she nodded her head and whispered, "I know. I trust you."

Oliver's jaw clenched as he thought back to what Malcolm had told him. He grounded out, "_I_ put you in so much danger every day, just by knowing me. I, I can't lose you. Even if that means that we can't…"

Felicity gripped his arm as she cut him off, "No. Don't even go there Oliver Queen. _We_ decided long ago that you pushing me away and trying to hide me from danger wasn't going to work. I'm with you through _everything_. It's my choice to make, not yours."

Oliver stood up quickly, Felicity feeling the loss of warmth acutely. He started to pace like a caged animal, before he burst out, "You don't get it. I will not let you die because of me! And if that means not being with you until I finish this, I'll do it. I need you safe Felicity."

Felicity sat up in their bed as she held the sheet to cover her chest. "Oliver, what did Malcolm tell you? Because you were fine with this, this morning." She knew that it was something Oliver took as a very serious threat.

Oliver turned to face the window, looking out at Starling City. He gripped the wall tightly before breathing out in frustration. He had failed. Failed to protect one of the more important and precious things in his life. He began to speak softly, "I thought he was going to kill me tonight. He caught me off guard and got me into a choke hold again. He could have easily done it. But he didn't. Instead, he leaned in and told me…He said he was going to make me suffer the way he did when he found out about Tommy. About how I couldn't save him. He wanted me to know what it felt like to lose the thing I love the most." Oliver turned around to face her as he went on, "Malcolm promised me that I was going to watch my wife die in front of my eyes, Felicity. He knows about you and I won't allow that. I can't lose you."

Felicity let the blanket slide down from her as she stood up and walked up to him, cupping her hand on his cheek. "You won't lose me, Oliver. I promise." Oliver closed his eyes, thinking that she was going to agree with him. However she went on, "But I won't leave you either. We'll get Malcolm, together. We need each other right now." Felicity could see that he didn't like this, so she tried to lighten the mood. "Plus, where else are you going to find a kick-ass IT girl like me."

Oliver brought his hands to her hips and squeezed them, pleadingly. "Felicity."

She shook her head as she threaded her fingers through his hair and brought his forehead to rest against hers. "Oliver, I'm not budging on this. We can double my training and you can teach me how to use your bow. I'm even willing to let you get a bodyguard for me. But I will not let Malcolm win in anyway. Because either way he will win. We'll both be suffering if we can't be together. Don't you remember those god-awful three days when you had to go to Metropolis with only Dig because we didn't want to raise any suspicions? Dig said you nearly drove him mad."

Oliver huffed softly, remembering those days very clearly. "Well, Carly said that you were moping the whole time."

Felicity nodded her head, not ashamed to admit it. "Exactly my point. So I'm not leaving and you can't push me away Oliver Queen. Remember, for better or worse. I took those vows and I meant them."

Felicity leaned up a little and kissed him softly on the lips, before leaning back down, waiting for his response. Oliver kept his eyes closed as he thought of everything he had to put in order. He leaned down and kissed her again, not so chastely this time, before he told her, "You'll practice with me four more times a week on top of the ones we do now and twice with Diggle."

Felicity was about to protest at that, but huffed out a breath before nodding. "Fine."

Oliver let his hands move from her hips to her lower back as he brought her flush against him. "And I'll be teaching how to use my bow while Dig teaches you how to use a gun. You'll also be getting two bodyguards."

Felicity couldn't help but protest at the second part, "Now Oliver, one is enough. I can't show up to work with _two_ of them. How will I explain that to my coworkers? 'Oh, those two, they're just protecting me from a crazed psychopath that has it out for me. No biggie.'"

Oliver raised his eyebrow at her, not wavering on it. Felicity finally mumbled an agreement to his terms, knowing that he wasn't going to change his mind. She considered it a win that she talked him into not hiding her away from the world for the foreseeable future. Felicity just realized then that Oliver was going to be training her six times a week. She was going to need to stock up on underwear. She smiled deviously at him as she said, "We'll need to make a sign to put up when you're training me though." Oliver gave her a confused look (Diggle knew not to disturb him when he trained her). She leaned in to whisper the last part, "I don't think poor Roy can be traumatized like that again."

Oliver actually growled at that, remembering Roy yelling at them how it was like walking in on his parents doing it. Oliver slid his hands down to cup her butt and lift her up, as she reflexively wrapped her legs around his waist. "I'll get right on that."

They both knew a lot more needed to be discussed and planned. They needed to bring Diggle and Roy up to speed. Oliver needed to work ten times as hard to find Malcolm before anything could happen. But in that moment, Oliver and Felicity enjoyed each other. Enjoyed that they had each other for the night. And enjoyed they found the one person who would stand by their side for all eternity, no matter what may come.

_Oh, if only they knew how little time they had before tragedy struck._


End file.
